Product Review: Fante’s Cavatelli Maker and Cheese Grater

The Ranting Chef does not get paid or receive any revenue from manufactures or retailers of products reviewed. I occasionally receive products that I am asked to use and see what I think. I take a look, try them out and tell you all about them.

A box from Harold Import? It could be just about anything.

What was inside was two great items from the Fante’s line of Italian cooking tools. The Fante’s products are made by HIC, Harold Import Co. and created in partnership with the Fante family of Philadelphia.

The first item was a Cousin Nico’s Suction Base Cheese Grater. Unlike previous graters I have used before, this is a drum style cheese grater.

The grater is a solid piece of craftmanship. It looks like it is built for a restaurant (or maybe just a large Italian family!) and will last through whatever I could throw at it.

The suction base quickly attached to my countertop and the grater did not budge at all.

The grater comes with two different drums. Drum A (the one on the left with many smaller holes) is intended for finer grating such as with nuts, chocolate, breadcrumbs and hard cheeses. Drum B (on the right with fewer but larger holes) is intended to shred vegetables and semi-soft cheeses. Switching drums is easy as you simply unscrew the handle, pull out the drum and replace it with the other.

I started with drum B and a lemon-sized ball of semi-firm mozzarella.

While the grater comes with a stopper to push the cheese down, for the most part the action of the drum was sufficient.

In a handful of seconds I had a pile of shredded mozzarella.

Next I tried drum A with a block of parmesan.

Again, it was quick to make a pile of finely grated cheese.

This shot shows you the difference the drums make.

The second item was Cousin Elisa’s Cavatelli Maker. From the side, it looks like quite a contraption.

To keep it steady during use, it comes with a clamp that easily fits on countertops or tables that are up to 1 3/8 inches thick.

The pasta gets fed into the maker and the handle turns to create the unique cavatelli shape.

I couldn’t wait to try it out. As with any good pasta, you have to make a nest for the eggs. Mix it. Let it rest.

In this application, roll the pasta into a rope shape (like when you make snakes out of play dough).

Feed the rope into the maker while turning the handle. The maker grabs the pasta, grooves the outside, folds it and cuts it.

So cool. This pasta is designed with lots of ridges and crevices to hold on to delicate sauces.

It wasn’t long until I was cranking out cavatelli like a pro. Some might say like Cousin Elisa!

Look for this dish to make an appearance later on the blog, but the cavatelli and cheese are both highlighted in it.

My Take: I really liked the Fante’s products. These are professional quality products that are both sturdy and elegant Cousin Nico’s Suction Base Cheese Grater makes grating cheese a breeze and the two different drums really adds to its versatility. Cousin Elisa’s Cavatelli Maker allowed me to make a pasta that I would have thought impossible for me to make. My family was quite impressed. I would recommend both products. Check out all of the Fante’s tools.